Art by Jelvzie Linnert

Story by Owl
https://www.tumblr.com/thelouspicystash

Previous Page: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/63141230/

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“Am…am I getting bigger?” She murmured to herself, staring at her body in almost disbelief. “This is much more than bloating from a bad piece of meat, or even a rotten piece of fruit. What…what on earth is happening to me?”
She kept her eyes back there this time, watching it with an intent gaze. While there were no growth spurts as there were before, it did ever so slightly stretch out just a bit more, widening her frame all the more. “It’s…growing so fast,” she remarked, nearly to stunned silence. “Wait…there’s something else going on. I can feel…movement?”
True to her word, she felt something shifting around from within her stomach. It was completely alien to her, this sensation, as if she had swallowed a whole den of live prey. She could barely manage to look away, trying to make heads or tails of the situation…before she saw it. A small yet unignorable force against the side of her belly, one that all but confirmed what was inside her.
Against the side of her stomach, pressing with all the might it could…was a paw.
The realization quickly made her face flush bright red. “It’s…cubs…I’m carrying cubs. I’m…pregnant.” Even though the word had already formed in her mind knowingly as it left her lips, to utter it all the same was a shock like no other. The idea of mating, finding love, and having kids, certainly it was an idea she had considered before, but one she had always hesitated to make. She knew she was one of the last pure asiatic lionesses, and if she could have it her way, she would mate with an asiatic lion in turn, if not for anything other than the preservation of her species. To lay with another lion of any breed, she would love him and her children, of course, but the knowledge that the asiatic lion would die out would nag her to no end for the rest of her days. It was why she had spent so long on her own, why she had even gone through the trouble of traveling this far to speak with the ancestors. They were her last chance, her last hope to try anything.
And now here she was. Pregnant with cubs. And somehow, she didn’t know how, but she knew within herself what they were. They were asiatic cubs, ones who would be born completely pure as her own.
“H-How can this…?” She began to ask, but her mind worked faster, already formulating an answer. Slowly, she reached a paw back, pressing it against her belly. The sensation was warm, both to her touch and from within her, which she reasoned made sense considering what she was carrying. Despite the tightness of her skin, it still felt soft, almost like a sufficiently smooth rock worn down by months of flowing water. She definitely felt as big as a rock, seeing as how large and heavy she now felt. “Th-The Great Kings…they did hear my plea, after all…and this is how they responded? And so quickly? I…I…”
Her mind was a flurry of emotions and thoughts. She was pregnant, and heavily so. She was far along, but she was carrying multiples. She didn’t know how many, but at least three were in there. All pure asiatic, though she could not say anything more beyond that. She did feel joy, knowing her species was saved, but a feeling of fear also came up. Oh goodness…I carry the future of my kind within me. I have been blessed, but I now have a responsibility to them all. Should I fail them, then my species…fate would truly condemn us to extinction. It’s all up to me…it’s all up to—!
Her thoughts were interrupted by another kick within her stomach, but this time, it was against the paw she was holding up against it. Unlike before, it seemed to linger, almost as if one of her unborn cubs was trying to paw at her, to get her attention. After a moment of stunned stiffness, she gently rubbed where she felt the kicking, which seemed to sooth the eager cub as they calmed down within her. In tandem, she felt a calmness over herself as well, a soft smile making its way across her lips.
“Oh, Great Kings…I did not come to this mountain expecting a miracle, and yet I am walking away with the greatest one you could bestow. A surprise to be sure…but one I shall certainly welcome.”
With a confident smile, a nod, and renewed vigor, she turned her attention back down the mountain, and continued her long trek back towards the Night Pride, now with a few new members in tow.